Text 2. Charges read out against captain of Elektron

I. Read the text.

Make sure you understand the words below:

to detect	to spot, to discover
to set up	to establish
on the strength of	on the basis of
sign	indication
to present	to give
exposed	revealed

29 June, 2006

Prosecutors in Russia's Murmansk region read out the charges against Valery Yarantsev, captain of the Elektron on Wednesday. He is accused of violating international fishing rules and of illegally depriving foreign citizens of their freedom.

The trial is likely to be long. It will take the judge much time to examine and analyze all the 14 volumes of materials and hear out the witnesses for the prosecution and the defence. The case is tried behind closed doors.

On October 15, Norwegian coastguards detected the Elektron fishing off Spitsbergen. Inspectors found illegal fishing tackle on board and tried to convoy it to the port of Tromso.

Two Norwegian coastguard service officers came on board the Elektron, but its captain unexpectedly changed the course toward Murmansk.

Norwegian vessels failed to intercept the Elektron during a four-day chase across the stormy sea, and the trawler entered Russia's territorial waters on October 20.

The captain was hospitalized with a heart attack after the vessel arrived in the Russian port. A special commission was set up to investigate the incident, and on the first of November, Murmansk region prosecutors instituted criminal proceedings on the strength of the materials submitted by Norway.

Norway insisted that the Elektron had violated a number of rules; in particular¹, it failed to send a notification on the beginning of fishing, and used a net with the meshes smaller than the norm.

In addition, Norwegian inspectors found several stamps lacking the vessel's registration number, intended for marking fish boxes. In their opinion, these were signs of poaching.

Although the fish net was not found on board, the Norwegians presented the pictures of the fishing tackle made during the inspection.

The exposed violations qualify as offences both under Norwegian and Russian laws.

Vocabulary

to deprive (of)	лишать
trial	судебное разбирательство
witness for the prosecution	свидетель со стороны обвинения
defence	защита
to try	проводить расследование
tackle	снасти; оснастка, такелаж
to intercept	останавливать, задерживать
to institute	начинать
to submit	представлять на рассмотрение
mesh	ячея сети
stamp	штамп, печать; пломба или ярлык (на товаре)
intended	предназначенный
poaching	браконьерство
to qualify	зд. расцениваться
offence	преступление, правонарушение